hard news, losing a connection to the past

View of the city, I snapped this while driving
 to pick up the girls after their camp.

I heard last week that Mrs. Margaret, the neighbor I lived next to in Davenport, Iowa, fell and hit her head. She suffered a brain bleed, had surgery, etc. We went to visit Margaret and her son, my childhood friend over spring break of '24. They didn't think she'd be able to live on her own again, but she was making progress. 

One of my walks in the
bloggers walking
 club. I can walk Mon
and Wed while I'm
 babysitting, because I
have three tots. I'll be
 outnumbered once 
 the newborn twins
start in Feb. 

Her son, John, was my first best friend. We met when I was about four years old. He suffered a TBI when he was ten after crashing his bike during a competitive bike race in Peoria around 1980. He'd looked to see how much of a lead he had. After turning back around, he hit a truck that had 2 by 4's hanging off the end of it. The truck wasn't supposed to be parked there. 

His older brother, Joe, was like a brother to me. We'd kept in touch. He lived in MN. He was always in my corner, and supportive of me. Joe, the healthiest guy on the planet, died of a heart attack days before Christmas in '21. His first grandchild was born days after Christmas. He was so looking forward to that. He was about 58  years old.

Saturday, I learned that Margaret, who's in her upper 80's, fell again - broke her hip and is in hospice. I've told Coach at least once every few weeks for the past several months that I want to get back to Florida to visit her again. I kept thinking I'd find  time soon. And now? They're saying she might only live days or a week. 

I almost forgot. Coach and I went to
 dinner Friday night at a Mexican
 place. There was a special:  chicken
 fajitas for two for $25.
I had a strawberry
 basial margarita.
 They put sugar on
 the rim. They didn't ask
 me - I prefer salt. You?

Sunday afternoon, I looked into buying a flight Sunday night and returning Monday, but it's complicated. I don't want to infringe on family time. I'd land at midnight, need to rent a car, need to find a hotel, and communication isn't the greatest. 

There were 5 brothers. I lived two doors down from them from age 4-7. Some of my happiest days were spent in Davenport. Our families were both transplants and we did everything together. My friend, John, was the youngest of the five brothers, and he was a year older than me. The brother in Florida doesn't communicate with some of his other brothers, so Joe's widow is out of the loop.

Marge was a gem. She cared for her son after his accident until they moved to Florida a few years ago. Now John lives with the brother there, and Margaret lives around the corner, but on her own. She has a devout faith, always did whatever she could for others, and never complained. She's a fiercely strong woman, and a gifted artist. She raised  5 boys, and I was the spunky neighbor girl who hung around their house all the time. 

It feels like the end of an era. With the estranged brother caring for John now, I don't know how much contact I'll have with John. Losing Marge reminds me how much I miss Joe. It's one more connection to days gone by that are slipping away. 

*****

Other things:  Coach and I drove to South Bend and tailgated on Saturday and came home when the game started. The little girls were away at camp, and it was a delightful day - relaxing, as I wasn't in charge of a tailgate. We had a few friends there we enjoyed meeting up with. College essay writing and basketball recruiting are overwhelming us Shenanigans (the basketball part is the tough bit). Reg is home for the week, and happily caddying and raking in a ton of money in this beautiful, mild, fall weather. 

Did you have an amazing neighbor that you remember fondly from your youth? I feel like families aren't transplanted as often anymore with telecommuting, etc. Did anyone else experience moving as a result of a parent's job as a kid? 

Lad news: ch-ch-changes

Backstory:  Lad panicked when he graduated during the pandemic. It wasn't the pandemic's fault. He was spread thin playing a D1 sport and trying to stay afloat academically. He has ADD and I don't know that he was taking medication. He failed to get a grasp on what sort of career path he might follow. 

hello darkness:  He started selling cars in Aug of 2020. My family friends own car dealerships. I didn't like the idea, but Lad struggled so much during the pandemic that we walked on egg shells at home. Understatement. Long time readers might remember how difficult that time was. In a nutshell:  dark days. 

Cars:  He's made huge strides and claims that he takes meds (not sure if he does and he's an adult but we tried to give him feedback and make him accountable for his behavior), but dang - selling cars is not sustainable. Every Saturday. Most nights. Cut throat atmosphere. They made it hard to take a Sat off, even if a person accumulated vacation days. A few weeks ago, they paid him in $800 of Amazon gift cards as his bonus for being the top salesman for warranties (or something).

He's interviewed on and off for a few years. 

Network:  A few months ago, I told him he needed to network more, connect with people who we know/who know him. We started a list. He's learned so much selling cars. He's a closer. He's engaging and personable. He started taking the networking path seriously and he was a finalist for a job with Abbott Labs in June, but they chose someone internally. 

He reached out to a twins who played water polo in college. They're older than him, and both work in marketing. They went to high school and college with my godson, who is part of the car sales family. Lad explained his wanting to find a job and would appreciate their help, but hoped they'd keep his search on the down low with the car sales family. 

They connected him to a headhunter who works with D1 athletes. Lad interviewed for a job selling fire safety equipment to businesses. He moved further along in the process - liked everyone he met at the company.

Could this be more unrelated? I found these at
 Costco business center, which isn't convenient
to shop, but these were so yummy and
 healthy. No added sugar (I think).

Coach and I had never heard of this company, but one of Coach's patients is an entrepreneur and he told Coach "It's a national company and it's a great company plus businesses need the stuff they're selling, etc." 

An offer! They offered him the job a few weeks ago, saying they'd put a letter together. Lad told the headhunter he'd like 30 days to decide - he had some bonus money coming his way at the dealership. The headhunter was like, You cannot take 30 days to decide.

The letter didn't happen for over a week, and Coach and I began to get nervous that Lad had blown it. (because he also told the hiring guy at the place that he would need time).

Meanwhile Lad started interviewing with Big Company and he told the fire supply place that he was considering all of his options. Fire equip. sweetened the deal. He got the offer letter the end of last week. 

Living it up on a Saturday:  He and a buddy came to ND and had a great time last weekend. It was so nice to see him enjoying a weekend. Ya know? 

He had another interview with Big Company Tuesday. He was upfront with them, saying he had another offer on the table and Big Company said they had to interview the other candidates - that he was one of 20 applicants they'd narrowed it down to. 

The fire equipment place called him Tuesday morning and asked if he was ready to sign the letter, and what was holding him back. They asked what it would take to get him to sign. He gave them a number, and they met it. He signed. 

I was sort of hoping for Big Company, because I wonder if there is more social options - like more team type structure, but he's excited and fire equip is excited to have him. 

 Good-bye after FIVE years:  Last week, he let the dealership know he was leaving. The managers won't send deals to someone who has one foot out the door, so he has a few weeks off and he is delighted. 

Baby, we want you back: The car boss called him Wednesday. Told him that he and his brothers were talking and that they hoped to keep him with the company, and Lad said no thanks. They offered to pay him an additional % of sales. Lad said, It means a lot that you are offering that, but I'm not interested. 

In July of '24, the brother he was selling cars for not too far from our house sent him packing. Told him to go work for one of his brothers. The other dealership was farther away. Lad was upset, insisting that they brought in a new manager and he didn't like Lad. I tend to see things clearly and we urged Lad to be on time to the dealership, and stop going home at lunch to see his dogs, etc. 

Then - in the spring, the original brother called Lad and asked him if he would come back (the brother Lad was working for was fine with the switch, like the two brothers had agreed). Lad said, No thanks. I like it here. I work well with this manager, etc. (he also knew he was hoping to have a new job soon-ish.)

Timing is everything:  A few weeks ago, a cousin to the brothers who has the same last name posted some horrible politically charged sick sentiments on social media. A woman I haven't seen in a few years was so outraged by it, she called me to ask what connection this woman had to the car family, because she knew I knew them.

Customers were upset and people were tagging her post all over the place, urging no one to buy cars from the car family. Lad said No one is coming in here to buy cars. Great time to be in the process of getting out of the biz. 

*****

All that to say, I've prayed about this for years. I've really wanted my son to get his life back - to go out and enjoy what's left of his 20's. Right now he feels confident. He feels wanted by the fire equipment company (and wanted in the 11th hour by the car place). He feels like he clicks with them. Fingers crossed that he is happy with the move. 

Laptop - womp womp.
See the lower
right side? I think that
 part got pinched
 when I folded it. Not sure
you can tell but the
screen is all lines.

the future looks bright:  I know he wants to date and to spend time with friends, and I so hope that he has time for all of that now. In the meantime, he's available till Oct. 20th and he's agreed to take my dad to PT and he's driving Kay to school tomorrow, because we're in a bind. He's also planning to go with me to buy a new laptop. 

That's the thing I keep forgetting to tell you:  remember my laptop with the screen that was held together by a command strip, a safety pin, and a strip of fabric? I brought it along to Creighton a few weeks ago, and when I folded it - something went wrong - the screen is no longer functioning. It was time (even though I bought it less than 5 years ago). 

Anyone have a laptop recommendation? I don't need fancy. I use it for internet and for google docs, so I don't even need a ton of memory. 

Sleepless in South Bend with no apparent off-switch

I began drafting this on tailgate day in my car on my ipad . . . Here I sit, questioning my life choices. I arrived in the line at Notre Dame to park in the lot at 5:07 am. I already have a ticket for the lot, so I'm guaranteed a spot - but guess who likes a Prime SPOT? 

Are you surprised?

The view from across the lake on
 campus - during my Sunday morning run.
It's October - who else is joining in
Elisabeth's cool bloggers walk adventure?

This was not my planned arrival time, but Friday I had some weird gut issue. It felt as though someone had jammed a knife into my side. For hours. No amount of gas would alleviate it, and trust me - there was gas. Sorry for over-sharing.

Why the pain? The only thing I could think of was that I bought a quart of Fairlife milk last week. I don’t drink a ton of milk, so could the little bit that I ingest in my oatmeal (a half cup) or in my protein shake (a cup?) really mess with my insides THAT much? I usually buy SILK high protein milk. 

Friday I slaved away loading the coolers with drinks and food and 7 twenty pound bags of ice. Coach cut up lettuce, in case you were wondering. Mini had a job interview downtown Chicago Friday, and came in Thursday night for a pre-interview dinner. Fingers crossed. Knowing I was driving to South Bend on Friday evening (Coach waited till Saturday at 7:30 am to drive in with Curly and Ed), Mini asked me on Thursday:  

If I uber home Friday afternoon will you be ready to go at like 2 pm?

Um, that's tough to commit to. It all depends on how long it takes me to load my big ass van and finish food prep and decide what I'm gonna wear/pack. I asked Coach to take seats out of the van Thursday evening so we could get started early. I told Mini to come home after the interview and I'd do my best. (this was before I knew I would be in such horrible pain). My kid had a social life to return to in South Bend. Nothing like a little pressure (added to the stabbing pressure in my side).

the side view of the car - note Gumby
 poking out, anxious to hop on the car.

She said the interview went well. She came home. I was dripping in sweat, but we left a little after 3:00. Traffic was terrible and it took us 2.5 hours vs an hour 45 min. 

After we ate a quick dinner (she suggested Chiplote for speed and I asked her to consider my horrible side pain, also known as TERRIBLE, INEXPLAINABLE GAS, so we ate at BruBurger). Next I drove her to grab her hair product she left at a friend's townhouse. On to her dorm room for her to change. Then we went to an orchestra that her friend was performing in. So impressive. I dropped her off at the birthday party at her friends' house and I drove to where I was staying.

I slept in the bedroom of a house a little less than 2 miles from campus. A friend of a friend owns this house, and while it may be the house that time forgot - it’s perfectly comfortable and clean and the price is RIGHT - free. He doesn't rent rooms out, he just lets friends stay. That's crazy generous, because he could charge a ton. This is his second home, and he uses it when he comes in for games. He's a season ticket holder. I gifted him a $100 Visa gift card and a loaf of pumpkin bread as a thank you. 

Unrelated awesome news:  he's letting Coach and I and the fam stay there for graduation. Plenty of room for all of us. Savings:  thousands of dollars. 

Curly and I stayed at his house last year for a tailgate. When we pulled up, Curly called it ‘horror movie base’. She was like, "What? We're staying in a couple of bedrooms in a house with other people staying there, people who we have never met? Mom, this is how every horror movie starts." It didn't help that we arrived at 10 pm and the place had a creepy vibe with one working street light swaying in the breeze. Her:  "we are asking to be axe murdered."

Hey, we survived. Let's not revisit the Airbnb nightmare of the computer glitch that happened and my reservation wasn't cancelled even though my computer said IT WAS. That cost me big bucks. OK, moving on.

My fridge Thursday before
packing it all in the car.

Where were we:  I was beyond tired when I went to bed, because the last few nights of sleep were far from ideal (I  wonder - had the pain issue maybe been low level festering for a few days before and just ramped up to unbearable status on the DAY BEFORE TAILGATE DAY, which is a busy day - but I'll take doubled over pain on the Friday of car loading day over feeling lousy on the tailgate day itself). After all that work, I want to ENJOY. 

OK, we've established that I was tired. I'd been making food all week, and even made an unprecedented three Costco runs. 

One dad asked during the tailgate:  IS ALL THIS FOOD HOMEMADE? 

Yes, yes it is. (aside from the container of guac and chip dip, but that was obvious).  

The dome during my
Sunday morning run.
Cool bloggers walk and run,
don't you know?

I fell a sleep a few minutes after 10 pm Friday and woke up at 2:15 am to pee. Then I realized - I’d forgotten to take my nightly meds to calm my gut (it's technically an antidepressant, but it helps with gut stuff). I literally have never forgotten to take it. Maybe it was because I was out of my routine - but even when I’m in a hotel - I take it. Of all the damn days. Earlier in the day, I'd even thought - can't wait to take my night time med, because that ought to settle this pain down. (insert image of me banging my head on the wall)

So now my gut was not happy and I was sleepless in South Bend. I feared my sleep deficit would make for a long tailgate. 

But - I'm here to tell you. It was really the best day. It was crazy hot - 87 degrees, but we had so many people show up and it was a blast. I felt great. 

One dad asked Coach:  Your wife has so much energy. Does she have an off-switch?

I cackled. Um, yeah - so I planned to sleep from 10 pm - 5:15 am and then drive over to get my spot. Instead, my body allowed me to sleep from 10 pm - 2:15 am. I tried a million things, reading, drinking water, etc. 

Finally I decided:  I can be awake here, or I can be awake in line in my car, waiting for a great spot. So, I rolled with it. 7th car in line. Who even am I? (a crazed lunatic)

********

I've got more tailgate stories to share, I had my MRI on Fri, and good Lad news coming, and a funny (now) botched carpool situation, and yet ANOTHER scam story - I've been had AGAIN. Deets to follow. 

Tailgate over, check. Now to proof-read Curly's college essays. Oh, Reg flies home Thursday night and will be home for over a week. 

What have you got going on? Does Fairlife mess with your gut? I must admit that I spilled my protein shake on the counter Fri morning, and I scooped it up. Did I ingest a bread crumb that irritated my celiac? Hmm.

I've been writing really short posts with similar comments, so here's a long one. Let me know your preference.

Chow time with Nana, the big tipper - who once took care of a few alligators with her ripper

Dad eating in his recliner. For a guy
with no appetite, he managed to eat
 leftovers from my pasta party -
followed by a piece of bread
 and a piece of Costco sheet cake. 

 Chow time:  My folks have a caregiver who comes twice week, but she's there 11 -3:00, I think. We suspect Nana (my mom) might be snacking a lot, and then skipping dinner - maybe she thinks she's eaten - ? I run over there with meals a few times a week, but not during meal time. 

New plan:  After tots/babies leave whenever possible, I go over there and heat up a few plates around 4ish. Then I race off to watch one of the three girls play volleyball. The girls attend three different schools, because otherwise life would be boring.

Once last week, I handed my dad his plate while he was in his recliner. 

*****

Nana eating with her view
of the golf course. 

Aside/bad news:  He's been taking a chemo pill as a follow up to the colon cancer surgery, but he's having side effect diarrhea and loss of appetite. He's decided not to take it anymore. 

I've decided to live in la-la land and hope that the colon cancer stays away. I'll keep you posted on how that pans out.

*****

Anyway, Nana saw a little girl on the golf course, so she hopped up from the table, raced over to her purse (to get cash), unbolted the slider, and was out the back door. I followed her. A guy was about to hit off the tee right behind their house.

Big tipper meets tiny golfer.

Me:  Hold on, Mom. He's hitting . . . 

Guy:  No prob. I'm not in a hurry. You're fine.

(the little girl and the men she was playing with were moving to the next hole on the back 9 or whatever - they were beyond the hole right behind my folks' house. I tried to persuade Nana to give up on her chase. No siree.

Nana (to the guy who paused his game so she could march by on the cart path):  Hi, how're you hitting 'em today?

Guy:  Pretty good. Such a nice night. Hey, someone in one of these houses used to come out and give me cookies.

Me:  Yeah, that was her (pointing at Nana). (Nana pumped her fist in the air like she won something).

Nana and I arrived at the hole where the little girl was with three guys - older brothers or a really young uncle? 

Nana:  Hi. What grade are you in? (3rd) Oh, I taught 4th grade. I saw you golfing and I think you're doing a great job. I want to give you this. (presents her with $10). You won't lose it now?

Girl:  Wow, thanks. No, I won't lose it. 

Nana stopped at the golf cart and chatted with each of the guys. They looked confused, but they were very nice and they thanked her. 

Coach says he's gonna start sending little kids over to play golf behind their house. Then he's gonna ask them to split the profits they make off of Nana. 

Did you read my recent post about me remembering as many kids as possible from my 1985 8th grade class and uppity girls in my grade school back in the early 80's? 

I have to share this Nana story. (I mentioned it in the comments, but in case you didn't hop back and read my replies). My wealthy aunt in Texas sent each of my two sisters an Izod shirt for their birthdays (their b-days were a few days apart, of course they were) when I was in like 6th grade. We went bananas. "AN ALLIGATOR SHIRT?!" Mom asked Ann to fetch her ripper from her sewing basket. Then she ripped the alligator emblem off each of the brand new shirts. 

Nana said something to the turn of:  If they won't be your friend without an alligator shirt, then you don't want them to be your friend just because you have an alligator shirt. 

********

Wise words or do you think that was harsh? I was at the age when I thought everything my parents said was Correct, and I don't think any of us ever questioned her response to the Izod shirts. Anyone want Nana's address so you can hang out in the yard and hope for a tip? 

speaking of memory (shortest post ever, if memory serves)

Speaking of memory - Oh wait? Weren't we - I forget. 

 I graduated in June 1985 from the Catholic grade school I attended from midway thru first grade when we moved to the burbs of Chicago from Davenport, Iowa till 8th grade graduation. It's been 40 years. 

My memory
working in overdrive

Later in summer of 1985 we moved to the Northers burbs-an hour away. I started fresh in high school - knew not a soul. The moving van dropped our stuff off at our house the day before freshman year started. 

I kept in touch with my couple of friends from 8th grade for years, and now I'm only in touch with one of them. She does our taxes. 

That grade school was in a swanky area. We weren't swanky people. My few friends and I were not accepted by the 'cool', preppy  kids who flipped their Izod  collars up even though we wore uniforms. 

Anyway, I've been thinking - 40 years! Let's have a reunion. While making cookies the other night, (it's tailgate season, who's excited? Who wants to see Gumby on top of my car?) I decided to write down as many first and last names as I could recall from my 8th grade class. I came up with close to 80 of the roughly 100 kids. I have my yearbook, so I can cheat - but I'm waiting a few more days to see if I can think of a few more names.

Not sure I'll jump in and plan a reunion. I think it would be fun, especially since I no longer care what any of them think of me, and Izod is now sold at Kohls. 

*****

Can anyone else remember people you went to school with if you haven't seen them in 40 years?  Would you attend/or have you attended a grade school reunion? What was the status brand/thing when you were in grade school?

4 Thursday rapid fire random thoughts

I realized while making cookies last night that today was Thursday. I still needed to make a grocery run, and hadn't drafted my Thurs post. I haven't gotten into a set grocery schedule for this school year. I want a devoted day for groceries not a panic-list-last-minute-race-to-the-store-run when we realize that (even though it's less than a week since I shopped) we're out of things. 

So, rapid fire style:

1.  Cookie caper:  I bake when it's cool out, when I have time. I store bags of my cookies in my freezers. I gift them to people who help us out, or I make a plate when we go to a party, etc. I date the bags, so I can rotate them. 

    Last week:  two bags in the basement freezer dated Aug. 1 held 6 and 10 cookies each. What??? (normal is @36/each). We grilled Kay about my disappearing cookie inventory and her answer went from nope, to I ate a couple, to MANY.  She woofed down *dozens* of cookies right before tailgate season. Grrr. 

I'm gonna buy this for
all the grown and
flown/college kids.
 I think it worked
wonders for me. 

2.  No! Germs!:  My throat started hurting Sunday. I took Emergen-C, went to bed early-ish. Monday evening my head felt like it weighted 100 lbs. I bought decongestants, more Emergen-C, and Zicam - a friend who swears by this stuff urged me to buy it.

    I took the Ziacam Monday and Tuesday along with Emergen-C and I was still tired Wednesday but I think I've basically kicked whatever it was. I was expecting horrible cold symptoms - but nope. Coach is struggling with the same symptoms, but is a day behind me. 

3.  Daunted and down:  Maybe feeling sluggish while fighting off this germ contributed, but Tuesday I felt downtrodden. Everything felt daunting. I'm usually energetic and focused on getting things accomplished on my to-do list. 

    Me:  WHO CARES? A FEW MORE THINGS ARE JUST GONNA BE ADDED TO THE LIST ANYWAY. 

I felt beaten and unmotivated. I told Coach I wonder if part of it stems from living with a child that is difficult to like, hard to spend time with, annoying. The exhaustion comes in waves. I felt better Wednesday. I need to reach out to the other adoptive moms I know who can share their FAKE IT TO YOU MAKE IT tactics. 

    BTW - Coach's take:  I think we need a vacation. He's funny. 

Unrelated but I bought
 these, thinking they
 looked good. I'm always looking for
 0 sugar/GF/high protein stuff. Coach said
 they're terrible, so I won't bother.
 The name though:  THINK ABOUT
EATING SOMETHING ELSE. 

4.  Be positive, damn it:  On the long-ass drive to Kay's volleyball game on Tuesday (my downtrodden day), I put myself in her shoes, and tried to think of a way to be positive (aside from 'good game'). FIND SOMETHING GOOD AND TELL HER. YOU'RE HER MOM. This sounds easy, right? I beat myself up for not being better at it, but there are days.

    On the way home, I told her that I was thinking about her, and how I know it's hard to be her sometimes. I explained what it means to persevere. 

Me:  I notice that despite everything in your life that hasn't been easy - you persevere. Different schools, a new family, landing in trouble- you get right back up and keep trying. You're persevering, and I'm proud of you. 

    I texted Coach while at a light, and told him I had a good chat with Kay. We do this, tell each other about our efforts to celebrate these moments, urge each other to try. (We also vent about stuff that drives us bonkers, which is sort of important too). 

*****

OK, not as rapid as I envisioned. Have you tried Zicam? Any early onset cold remedies you swear by? Anyone else freeze their desserts for later use?  Anyone else feel daunted lately? Anyone need to vent?

Then Curly tried to beak into Nana's house, lip synch video starring Reg, and the 'if only' truth

I drafted this before our mind-blowing busiest-in-a-longtime weekend. I'll describe soon. I finally replied to comments here and I'm off to comment on your blogs - I've read them while in motion thanks to the speechify app. Shout out to Michelle for mentioning it. Life changing. 

*****

On the home front while we were in Omaha last weekend:  Curly thought she was supposed to bring Kay to my folks' house early Sat morning. Huh? In reality, she had to drop her at our good friend's house on her way to volleyball practice. Good friend would drop Kay at her cross country meet. I verbally went over the plan with Curly, Rae, and Kay. Curly is very overwhelmed right now with academics, and volleyball, and college/b-ball recruiting - so my guess is she was only half listening. I also wrote it all out and hung it on the fridge. 

Coach (to me at 7:30 am Saturday in our Omaha hotel):  What's the code to your parents' garage?

Me:  *(mumbled four numbers, half asleep . . . because I was in a hotel, enjoying a bed to myself while Coach slept in the other bed and I COULD'VE slept till noon if I wanted) . . . then I sat bolt upright . . . 

WHY? WHO NEEDS TO GET INTO NANA'S HOUSE?

Coach:  Curly does.

Me:  (wide awake now) WHAT? NO!!! 

Fortunately, she'd gotten the garage door up but Nana's interior door was deadbolted. Coach told me she was crying - fearful she'd be late for volleyball, and I worried Kay was making life difficult for her. Bad timing for the two of them to have simultaneous brain farts. 

Then - a thunder storm. Good Friend needed to know if the meet was cancelled. It was delayed. More texts back and forth to Good Friend, to the coworker who was Kay's ride home, and to the c.c. coach. Hours later, Coach stared at his phone forever, anxious that coworker who was picking up Kay from the meet hadn't yet found her. 

I finally lost my marbles. STOP! SHE WILL FIND HER AND IF SHE CAN'T SHE HAS THE C.C. COACH'S NUMBER. SHE OFFERED TO HELP. WE ARE GONNA THROW MONEY AT HER. I'LL BAKE HER A SHIT TON OF STUFF. I CANNOT LISTEN ANOTHER MINUTE TO WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE HAPPENING AT HOME. 

Imagine if I hadn't slept in a separate bed and had a fairly decent amount of sleep? Yikes. 

A little later there were texts with the mom whose house Kay was going to in the afternoon. I let her know she'd be late, and she wondered if she could have Curly's number in case the pick up spot was different later on . . .  and so on. 

Like I said, NOT RELAXING. 

Please enjoy this video. Reg appears as the main dude in the leather jacket early on. It's a lip synch competition between freshman from different dorms or RSP groups (orientation groups). Happened orientation weekend. Needless to say, our fam was blown away when he shared the video. They came in 2nd. Maybe he should focus on something besides b-ball.

 All I can say is:  Wait for it. 

*****

Remember when I was hitting friends up for babysitting help last weekend, and I texted Good Friend:  

"If only I had sisters." 

Neither of my sisters have acknowledged the adoption. I assume they discussed this and opted to stand together . . . in solidarity? Not a card, a phone call, a text, or a dumb 'like' on my very rare FB post. 

I think you all know that our adoption journey has not been easy. Never thought it would be, but I also never could have imagined how hard it would be. Ultimately, it's all good and I do believe as we keep slogging along it will only become more rewarding, but support from other people is . . . well, I'm not sure where I'd be without it. Note, Coach's sibs have showered us with support and love, as have many friends. Both my brothers reached out to say congrats on the adoption.  

Like I said, If only I had sisters. Sisters who weren't judgie, who spoke to me and not at me, who listen, who have a sense of humor. If you have one of those - or maybe more than one, I'm jelly. I do have good girlfriends, and I have you, faithful readers. So thanks. 

Ever been in a lip synch competition? Ever had someone get confused with specific directions that led to almost waking up your elderly folks?  Does your life follow the 'friends are the family you choose?' plan?